(Washington D.C.) – The Department of Homeland Security has released preliminary data for Fiscal Year 2026, showing the lowest annual totals for border encounters in agency history. While the federal report highlights a ninety-five percent drop in southwest border apprehensions, supplementary agency statistics clarify specific activity along the northern border.
Preliminary database tracking shows that U.S. Border Patrol recorded five thousand eight hundred fifty-five northern border apprehensions between October 2025 and August 2026. These local trends are heavily reflected along Montana’s boundary lines. Within the Havre Sector, which monitors four hundred fifty-six miles of international border, enforcement activity is spread across its six primary stations.
Those facilities—located in Plentywood, Scobey, Havre, Malta, Saint Mary, and Sweetgrass—reported that border crossings reached historic lows. These drops contribute to a broader nationwide decline, as total annual encounters fell to three hundred seventy-nine thousand two hundred forty-three, alongside a first-ever fiscal year with zero Border Patrol releases nationwide.
